Sister Europe

In this witty novel set in Berlin in 2023, a prize for Arabic literature, funded by the widow of an emir, takes center stage. To fill empty seats at the ceremony, the award’s recipient, Masud, extends an invitation and the promise of a free Michelin-starred dinner to his friend Demian, a German freelance art and architecture critic. In turn, Demian invites his 15-year-old, who is transitioning from Kilian to Nicole; Toto, a publisher originally from Texas who brings a date, Avianca; and Livia, a German socialite whose relatives have a Nazi past. Livia brings her poodle, Mephistopheles. Into the mix comes Klaus, a policeman trailing Nicole, whom he’s convinced is an underage sex worker. There’s also Prince Radi, the grandson of the award’s founder; he is standing in for his grandmother at the ceremony. The novel follows the characters’ transformations during the course of a single evening as they move through Berlin.